Okay folks, today I woke up thinking about those big hitters in baseball. You know, the guys racking up hits, doubles, homers – the total bases leaders. Saw the 2024 race is wild, so I grabbed my laptop thinking, “Man, how does this year stack up against the old days?”
Getting My Data Mess Started
First thing, I opened my browser. Searched for “2024 MLB total bases leaders” like anyone would. Found the top names popping up right now – man, some big seasons happening. Wrote ’em down on a sticky note:
- That Judge fella in New York
- Ohtani, even with his arm resting, just smashing the ball
- Witt Jr. over in Kansas City having a breakout year
- Harper doing Harper things again
Felt good knowing who was hot right now. Needed the past now.
Diving Into The History Hole
Remembered Baseball Reference has those leaderboards. Clicked over there. Scrolled way down, found the “season” leaderboards. Started punching in different years like I was trying crack a safe code. Wanted some big names from different times:
- 2001 – Sammy Sosa and Bonds, obviously
- 1998 – Sosa and McGwire chasing history
- 1980 – George Brett hitting like .390
- 1967 – Carl Yastrzemski winning the Triple Crown
- 1921 – Babe Ruth doing… well, being Babe Ruth
Got a little lost here, honestly. Opened way too many tabs. My browser crashed once. Had to restart it. Coffee helped.
Staring at Numbers Until My Eyes Hurt
Had my lists now. 2024 leaders on my sticky note. Old leaders in different browser windows. I did the simplest thing: I just started comparing the numbers side-by-side. Like, how many bases were these guys actually getting?
Looked at the very top guy first for each year. Then the top few. Tried to see averages for the leaders. Tripped over a big thing: games played! Some of these old-timers played crazy long seasons. More games meant more chances to rack up bases. Had to kind of eyeball that factor.
Also thought about the way bases happened. Back in the dead ball era? Almost no homers! Bases came from hits and running. Now? Homers are a huge chunk of it. Needed to factor that feeling in, not just the pure number.
Spilling Coffee on My Thoughts
So, after staring at numbers for an hour, making messy scribbles in my notebook, here’s the rough takeaway boiling in my brain:
- Elite Level is Still Elite: The absolute top guys in 2024? Judge, Ohtani… they are putting up monster base totals that hold up. Think Bonds 2001 level? Not quite yet for Judge this year, but Ohtani’s pace if he kept hitting was unreal. They’re definitely in that superstar territory.
- More Guys Doing Well? Kinda feels like maybe the Top 5 or Top 10 in bases this year might have slightly higher numbers on average than, say, 20 years ago? Maybe? Less clear. Pitching is different, ballparks are different. Tough.
- Homeroom Dominates: This really struck me comparing way back. Like looking at Babe Ruth in 1921. His homers made a MASSIVE chunk of his bases compared to everyone else. Now? Almost all the big base guys in 2024 are doing it with a ton of homers mixed in with their other hits (Judge, Witt Jr., Harper all launching). The game rewards power for bases now.
Finished my coffee. Felt dizzy looking at so many spreadsheets and numbers online. Honestly, it’s messy. Different eras, different styles. But seeing guys like Witt Jr. and Ohtani put up crazy total base numbers this year does feel a bit like watching history sometimes. Is it better overall than the past? Hard to say definitively just comparing lists. But man, the firepower right now is impressive to watch unfold.
